Glissando Guitar - how did they do that?
Stephen Bennett
How did they get that sound?
regards
S
ProgMAP
By bowing the strings with a curved metal rod where they would normally
be plucked.
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news:38FDDFE6...@xoommail.com...
>
>
> Stephen Bennett wrote:
> >
> > I'm thinking of the 'spacey guitar' on the 70's Gong & Steve Hillage
LPs
> >
> > How did they get that sound?
> >
> > regards
> >
> > S
>
> By bowing the strings with a curved metal rod where they would
normally
> be plucked.
Spinal Tap should have been masters of that <twinkle>.
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MisterJDF1
>>
>> I'm thinking of the 'spacey guitar' on the 70's Gong & Steve Hillage LPs
>>
>> How did they get that sound?
>>
>> regards
>>
>> S
>
>By bowing the strings with a curved metal rod where they would normally
>be plucked.
Specifically, Daevid Allen uses (or used) the whammy bar off of his guitar like
a bow. Dave Brock of Hawkwind was known to do this, too.
D
Stefan Dill
glass rod as well...
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Before you buy.
Zero the Hero
>>By bowing the strings with a curved metal rod where they would normally
>>be plucked.
> Specifically, Daevid Allen uses (or used) the whammy bar off of his guitar like
> a bow. Dave Brock of Hawkwind was known to do this, too.
Mass quantities of reverb and other effects are necessary too, right?
Jason
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Keith Henderson
>>Stephen Bennett wrote:
>>>
>>> I'm thinking of the 'spacey guitar' on the 70's Gong & Steve Hillage LPs
>>>
>>> How did they get that sound?
>>
>>By bowing the strings with a curved metal rod where they would normally
>>be plucked.
>
>Specifically, Daevid Allen uses (or used) the whammy bar off of his guitar like
>a bow. Dave Brock of Hawkwind was known to do this, too.
and still is...
Daevid Allen was famous for originally using metal bits from 19th
century speculums (or specula?), tho' lately it seems he only uses the
whammy bar as suggested here. And he claims he got the idea for
glissando from Syd Barrett. If you have more interest in this playing
style, check out the 1999 CD '22 Meanings' by Daevid Allen and Mother
Gong's Harry Williamson. It's a one-track 46-minute glissando fest.
And the liner notes tell you the history of glissando and what sort of
equipment you need. Available through GAS. http://www.gong-gas.co.uk
or something like that.
Keith H.
ProgMAP
Zero the Hero wrote:
>
> MisterJDF1 <miste...@cs.com> spluttered:
> >>By bowing the strings with a curved metal rod where they would normally
> >>be plucked.
>
> > Specifically, Daevid Allen uses (or used) the whammy bar off of his guitar like
> > a bow. Dave Brock of Hawkwind was known to do this, too.
>
> Mass quantities of reverb and other effects are necessary too, right?
>
It helps greatly, but the important bit is the bowing.
Michael Madden
Michael
ProgMAP <paul_b...@xoommail.com> wrote in message
news:38FDDFE6...@xoommail.com...
>
>
> Stephen Bennett wrote:
> >
> > I'm thinking of the 'spacey guitar' on the 70's Gong & Steve Hillage LPs
> >
> > How did they get that sound?
> >
> > regards
> >
> > S
>
> By bowing the strings with a curved metal rod where they would normally
> be plucked.
>
>
JD
Stephen Bennett wrote:
>
> I'm thinking of the 'spacey guitar' on the 70's Gong & Steve Hillage LPs
>
> How did they get that sound?
>
> regards
>
> S
By smoking big fat doobies?
Just a guess.
JD
Ian White
Stephen Bennett wrote in message <8dkj5b$3pk$1...@cpca14.uea.ac.uk>...
Jonathan Roberts
> How did they get that sound?
As others have written, it's a result of using the slide like a bow. You
hold the slide (I use a phillips-head screwdriver) in the hand you
usually use to hold the pick, and slide it across the strings while
using the fretting hand to press strings down to the fingerboard to take
them away from the slide (this is how you can gliss on non-adjacent strings).
It helps GREATLY to have a good compressor in the circuit, as the sound
level produced by this technique is necessarily less strong than picking
the strings, and echo is essential. I also like some chorus effect as
well though it's not as essential.
--
-- Jon
jonathan roberts \ the region of where
guitar:synth:notes \ "Music both ecrestic and neatrosolic."
Zero the Hero
> using the fretting hand to press strings down to the fingerboard to take
> them away from the slide (this is how you can gliss on non-adjacent strings).
So you can only use the slide on open strings? Did I read that right?
Long Brows
>I'm thinking of the 'spacey guitar' on the 70's Gong & Steve Hillage LPs
>
>How did they get that sound?
With a piece of "surgical quality steel" rubbed vertically across the
strings. "Surgical quality" is just what Daevid Allen recommends. I remember
getting a pretty good sound out of a raw steel rod. You have to crank it pretty
loud, otherwise it'll be inaudible.
MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")
make GEORYN disappear to reply
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Ville V Sinkko
> Jonathan Roberts <nart...@pobox.com> spluttered:
>> using the fretting hand to press strings down to the fingerboard to take
>> them away from the slide (this is how you can gliss on non-adjacent strings).
> So you can only use the slide on open strings? Did I read that right?
The technical requirements here all is starting to sound a bit weird. The
technique I use to create the glissandoz sound is by simply fretting a
string or two with a completely ordinary slide and then rubbing the slide
vertically up and down (and maybe a bit horizontally also) at the fret
position. Open-string playing is, of course, not even possible here except
theoretically by rubbing at the top of the nut (which easily produces
accidental clanking much louder than the notes). Add compression and
delay (better than reverb) and you can't be distinguished from the real
thing. Whatever that is.
You can do this with pretty much any oblong metal object. A rusty Phillips
screwdriver and some distortion will get you nice industrial textures.
+Cinquo
ProgMAP
Zero the Hero wrote:
>
> Jonathan Roberts <nart...@pobox.com> spluttered:
> > using the fretting hand to press strings down to the fingerboard to take
> > them away from the slide (this is how you can gliss on non-adjacent strings).
>
> So you can only use the slide on open strings? Did I read that right?
>
> Jason
You can hold down a chord. If the string action is low enough, you can
still bow any or all of the strings and the resulting sound will have the
tonality of the chord. The position of the bow along the strings will
affect the basic pitch, however.
Cheers,
Paul.
ProgMAP
Ville V Sinkko wrote:
>
>
> The technical requirements here all is starting to sound a bit weird. The
> technique I use to create the glissandoz sound is by simply fretting a
> string or two with a completely ordinary slide and then rubbing the slide
> vertically up and down (and maybe a bit horizontally also) at the fret
> position. Open-string playing is, of course, not even possible here except
> theoretically by rubbing at the top of the nut (which easily produces
> accidental clanking much louder than the notes). Add compression and
> delay (better than reverb) and you can't be distinguished from the real
> thing. Whatever that is.
>
> You can do this with pretty much any oblong metal object. A rusty Phillips
> screwdriver and some distortion will get you nice industrial textures.
>
> +Cinquo
You worked out how to gliss diferent chords with your method?
Without retuning your guitar, that is.
Ville V Sinkko
> You worked out how to gliss diferent chords with your method?
> Without retuning your guitar, that is.
Well, you can always use two slides. Even with one, I've found that plain 5th
chords suffice in most places, and the standard tuning allows you to
play both minor (sul G+B+E) and major (sul D+G+B) triads.
+Cinquo
ProgMAP
Well, as long as you're happy with the results.
Keith Henderson
wrote:
>Stephen Bennett wrote:
>
>>I'm thinking of the 'spacey guitar' on the 70's Gong & Steve Hillage LPs
>>
>>How did they get that sound?
>
> With a piece of "surgical quality steel" rubbed vertically across the
>strings. "Surgical quality" is just what Daevid Allen recommends.
Oh, and here I was thinking he used the speculum just to be strange.
:)
Keith H.
Zero the Hero
> You can do this with pretty much any oblong metal object. A rusty Phillips
> screwdriver and some distortion will get you nice industrial textures.
Does it have to be a Phillips? A flat-head should do the trick, right?
;-)
Jonathan Roberts
> So you can only use the slide on open strings? Did I read that right?
No, I didn't make myself as clear as I should have -- the slide defines
the pitch played as well as sounding it. Like with regular slide
technique, the note(s) sounded is/are at the locus of the slide.
I also should have noted that this works best with a heavy slide made
from metal -- it has to be smooth enough to give a smooth sound but
rough enough to sound the strings (if the slide was perfectly smooth
pulling it side-to-side wouldn't produce any sound; if it's too rough
you get undesired surges in the sound level).
I used to use a screwdriver which I'd ground the head off, but that
vanished somewhere some years ago and now I use a phillips-head
screwdriver (as the head isn't such an issue there). I think I paid
about $1 for this.
Tonsoc
>normally
>> be plucked.
>
I Peni Grande used that sound a lot, but the rod they used wasn't made of
metal. ;-)
Tony
Robert Carlberg
>If the string action is low enough, you can
>still bow any or all of the strings
How did Jimmy Page bow his guitar in the '70s? Did he have an arched bridge?
("Where is that confounded bridge?")
Chris Plummer
out of his Steinberger guitar.. but, I have seen old photos where Daevid was
using this long, thin rod..
As for Jimmy Page.. he just used a violin bow to his Les Paul (see Song
Remains The Same movie..)